Breaking Free
by FlightfootKeyseeker
Summary: Apollo's dead, and Meg is summoned by Zeus to face the consequences. But she will not allow anyone, even Zeus, to push her around anymore.
1. Chapter 1

\- Meg's Pov -

Apollo was dying at my feet.

Python had bitten him, just before he disintegrated.

As deadly and poisonous as Python's breath was, his actual venom was way worse.

I watched Apollo's eyes turn glassy. I stood there, numb. I should have known this would happen. The last person I looked up to was my Dad. He'd been murdered, because I had angered the Beast.

Now it was happening again.

"APOLLO!" I screamed. "I ORDER YOU TO STAY ALIVE. YOU _HAVE_ TO LIVE! You have to! Y-you have to..."

I collapsed, sobbing on the ground. Apollo was dead.

My friend — no — my _brother_ was dead.

Even as I cried, though, something niggled at the back of my mind. " _Stay strong,_ " it said. It sounded weirdly like Apollo.

I almost laughed. Even when he was dead, Apollo was trying to support me.

The voice was right. I could grieve after I'd told everyone what had happened.

I dried my tears on my green dress, and got up, preparing to head for the exit and get some help. I couldn't carry Apollo's body by myself.

A white flash illuminated my vision, blinding me. When it cleared, I was standing in a huge room, full of twenty-foot-tall giants sitting on thrones. Some weird cow thing was swimming in a bubble of water. It looked like someone had taken the front half of a cow and fused it with a sea serpent. With a pang, I remembered how I'd asked Apollo for some baby cows. I severed that line of thought. I couldn't afford to break down now, in this unknown place.

More flashes of light illuminated the hall, and all of mine and Apollo's friends from Camp Jupiter, Camp Half-Blood, and the Hunters were transported into this room. They'd all been fighting with us, taking on the Triumvirate's forces while Apollo and I confronted Python.

Everyone I knew appeared to be alright, at least. I doubted that we'd gotten by without ANY casualties — except for Apollo — but at least our friends were safe.

They all appeared to be confused, but none of our friends looked like they were getting ready to fight. Good. These giant people probably weren't threats, then.

The giant in the center throne stood up. The air became electrified. The way he was glowering seemed very familiar.

"Apollo is dead," he announced.

Some of the giants looked resigned, like they already knew this. Others seemed indifferent. A few looked devastated. A small, strangled sound came from a girl giant, who looked about the same age as me. Tears ran down her face as she glowed silver.

I knew who she was. That was Artemis, Apollo's twin sister. I didn't know how I knew, just that I did.

I felt a strange longing, looking at her. I didn't like to see her cry.

"MEG MCCAFFREY," Zeus bellowed, snapping my focus back to him. "Apollo died under YOUR watch. You didn't protect him. He is GONE. Even his essence has been destroyed. You will pay the price for his destruction."

A surge of anger and guilt welled up inside me. I'd failed to protect Apollo. Zeus was right. It was my fault. Again.

 _It's not your fault, how DARE he blame you for it!_ A voice echoed in my head. _He was the one who forbade the gods from giving help! Don't listen to him, Meg._

I snapped out of it. Those didn't sound like my thoughts...

Thunder rumbled. Everyone tensed. My friends looked ready to hurl themselves forwards to fight Zeus.

"Look. At. Me." Zeus growled.

And I looked.

I saw something familiar.

Something I had seen many times before.

Something I hoped to never see again.

I saw The Beast.

But not my Beast.

Apollo's Beast.

I glared back at Zeus defiantly, and started to yell, ignoring the small voice in my head telling me not to anger him, "YOU were the one who threw him in an alley. YOU were the one who took away his powers and his immortality. It's because of YOU that Apollo's memories were fading, YOU were the one who forbade the gods from helping us. Don't blame other people for what YOU caused, just to save your own butt!"

His eyes flashed. I knew that I'd unleashed the Beast's anger, but I was DONE with being afraid.

The Greeks, Romans, and Hunters surged forwards - whether to knock me out of the way, or intercept the lightning themselves, I wasn't sure - but it was too late. The lightning ripped through me, causing agony like I had never known before - except that at the same time, a part of me found it very, very familiar.

And then it was over.


	2. Chapter 2

\- Artemis's Pov -

Apollo is dead.

The words had no meaning.

Apollo is dead.

I knew what each word meant, but together, they were impossible to decipher.

Apollo is dead.

Apollo is dead.

My brother is dead.

My baby brother, my annoying, wonderful baby brother, is dead.

The words made sense. I wished they hadn't.

I wanted to scream.

Apollo is dead.

That thought would not leave my mind.

Then it got worse.

I heard Zeus yell, "He is GONE. Even his essence has been destroyed."

What?

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!

Worse than dead.

I would NEVER see him again. EVER. He didn't EXIST anymore.

I sat there, frozen. I could hear yelling going on, but I couldn't comprehend anything but what I'd just heard.

Apollo is GONE FOREVER.

I sat there frozen for an eternity. Then I felt a familiar tingle in the air.

I knew what was about to happen. But I was too late to stop it.

Lightning ripped from Zeus's bolt, incinerating Apollo's young companion, the girl who he would trade his own life to save.

Only a small pile of ash was left on the floor.

I launched myself at Zeus, summoning one of Britomartis's Celestial Bronze hunting nets as I did. He did this. He sent Apollo down to earth. He prevented me from helping him. And he had just murdered one of Apollo's precious people.

Zeus was a wild beast. I would hunt him.

I threw the net over him. My Hunters swiftly entangled him in it. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter kept Zeus distracted, attacking him whenever he tried to harm one of my Hunters.

Percy Jackson knocked Zeus's Master Bolt out of his hand, passing it over to Thalia. Zeus struggled and yelled even more at that.

He yelled and threatened, something about how he'd kill all the demigods and hunters, and threatening the other Olympians to come to his aid.

I didn't care. Apollo was gone. Zeus could yell all he liked. I would not listen to him.

Zeus was nicely trussed up by now. My Hunters are good at their jobs.

 _thwack_

I fired an arrow at Zeus.

 _thwack_

Another one dug into his flesh.

 _thwack_

If Zeus hadn't prevented me from helping Apollo, would he still be alive?

 _thwack_

After I had sent Britomartis to help Apollo in Indianapolis, Zeus had confined me to Olympus and prevented me from even watching Apollo's quest, much less helping him.

 _thwack_

Zeus's punishment had suppressed the telepathic connection Apollo and I normally shared. I couldn't sense him at all. I couldn't tell whether he was alive or dead.

 _thwack_

And now he was dead.

 _thwack_

 _thwack_

 _thwack_

Zeus was covered in silver arrows, dripping ichor on the floor. I sank to the floor and wailed, tears spilling from my eyes.

I don't know how long I lay there sobbing.

Then something changed.

I could feel a tension in the air, and a presence — no, TWO presences. I looked up, not daring to hope.

A soft light formed where Zeus had murdered that poor girl. It grew brighter and brighter, until it was painful for mortals to look at.

But I was no mortal.

I watched as the light receded, revealing a young girl in a shimmering green dress.

She was holding a small bundle to her chest.

Meg McCaffrey had returned.

And she wasn't alone.


	3. Chapter 3

\- Meg's Pov -

I was in a void.

Everything around me was blank — not black, not white, just nothingness. Like when you're in a dream and you KNOW what's going on, even though your mind simply dropped into the middle of the dream. In the same way, the nothingness was simply there — or perhaps somethingness simply wasn't. There was nothing to perceive.

This was in-between — a tipping point. A decision point. A crossroads.

I could feel myself being drawn downwards, down to the Underworld, down to the fate I had narrowly escaped in the Cave of Trophonius.

I had been tempted to die. I thought I deserved it.

But Apollo had felt the same way.

I could not, WOULD not let him die.

That's when I noticed him.

Apollo's essence — his self, his stupid, dorky, caring self — was still here. He was with me.

But not for much longer.

His essence was fragile. I was the only thing keeping him intact. The only thing keeping him on this plane of existence. If I died, he'd fade away.

I refused to let that happen. Me dying was one thing. But I was not allowing him to be destroyed.

However, Thanatos's pull was growing more insistent. I was teetering on the edge of the Underworld. Without something to grab onto, something to pull myself back into the world of the living, I'd be dragged into the realm of the dead.

I searched within myself, trying to find something, ANYTHING to hang onto, something that I could use to bring Apollo and myself back where we belonged.

And there they were.

Thin little cords, connecting me to the world of the living.

I probed the cords. Feelings of gratefulness and respect washed over me. The strongest feeling, though, was of trust, of faith, of belief. Belief that I could help, would help. Belief that I was powerful. Belief in me.

I knew what this was.

These were the feelings of the nymphs of Southern California, the nature spirits. I was their guardian. They believed in me, believed that I could help them.

Believed I was their goddess.

A surge of strength flooded through me. Thanatos had no hold over me.

I followed the cords back to where they came from, back to the world of the living. As I was about to take that last step and cross back over, however, I noticed a resistance. The cords would allow me through, but not Apollo. His essence is too raw, too fragile, too unprotected. He would dissipate if I tried to pull him through.

I searched around, trying to find something to protect Apollo with, something to shield him, to protect him, to keep him safe.

I didn't have to look far.

Sally had brushed my hair, helped me clean up, and given me food. She had helped Apollo and I, even though we were strangers.

And she had given me a dress.

The physical dress may be gone, but the essence of it, the feelings associated with it, weren't so easily destroyed. It was still with me. I cherished it and all that it meant.

I had received it at the beginning of this journey. It was the first sign that maybe, just maybe, I could trust these people. That Nero had lied to me. That I could have friends, family.

Even when I rejoined Nero, I never took it off. No matter what he did to me, what he said to me, the dress was a reminder that others cared about me. Even when it got destroyed, again and again, I kept on getting it repaired. It meant that much to me.

This dress had anchored me when Nero sought to twist my mind with his lies. Now it would anchor Apollo's existence.

I *tore* off a piece of my dress and wrapped Apollo's essence in it. His essence seemed to relax into the cloth, feeling the warmth and kindness permeating it, protecting him.

With Apollo's essence bundled in my arms, I crossed the threshold between Life and Death.


	4. Chapter 4

So for some reason, the site isn't showing that I updated this story. I've tried several things, but they haven't worked. So if you never got an alert that I updated, that's why.

There will be a sequel, but since FFN doesn't seem to want to send out alerts for me, I may wait until I'm closer to finishing it before posting it.

Thanks to grace-the-fangirl for betaing!

\- Artemis's Pov -

I stared at the green cloth bundle in Meg's arms. This presence… this was…

I ran towards Meg. Towards the tiny, precious soul in her arms. I had to know. I had to see. I couldn't let myself believe this was real until I knew for sure. If I was wrong, I would break. I don't know if I would ever be able to put myself together again.

I wasn't wrong.

Meg loosened the cloth and turned towards me. A small face peeked out from her arms. Golden eyes, soft curly hair, and a grin as bright as the sun.

My baby brother.

This was real.

THIS WAS REAL.

Little baby Apollo stretched out his arms towards me, cooing all the while. Ever so gently, Meg transferred my baby brother into my arms.

"Ἀπόλλων," I muttered softly, gently. I hugged him to my chest, tears running down my face. Apollo held onto me with his tiny hands, clinging to me like he was afraid I would disappear.

I didn't mind. I wasn't going to let go of him either.

He stared at my face, mesmerized, as if trying to ingrain it into his mind. With a pang, I remembered that he had complained of memory problems before Zeus had forbidden me from watching him. Surely Zeus wouldn't be so cruel… surely he would never inflict such a punishment, make Apollo forget something so precious… oh who was I kidding. Zeus didn't care whether Apollo lived or died. He'd never had a problem with hurting Apollo before. He would have no problem with making Apollo forget my face.

The thought reignited my anger. Apollo looked at my face and whimpered. I calmed down. I wouldn't upset my baby brother. I could rage later, when Apollo wasn't around.

He was so, so small. His essence a tiny fraction of its usual strength. But he was a god again. And slowly, ever so slowly, he was getting stronger. It would take time, but Apollo would recover. He would be okay.

Zeus started yelling again.

Apollo finally noticed Zeus. Immediately he recoiled, abject terror invading his eyes. He didn't cry. Even now, in this state, I think a part of him remembered that crying out would only prompt Zeus to hurt him more.

I cast a quick sleep spell on Apollo. I needed to stay around to see what would happen to Zeus, to make sure that he would NEVER harm my precious little brother. But he didn't need to go through this. Let him rest.

Meg walked slowly towards Zeus. She glowed softly, power permeating her small frame, her dress shimmering. From the ashes of her mortal form, a small chia plant sprouted. Next to it, the tiny beginnings of a wildflower formed - the Curse of Delos. Mine and Apollo's sacred flower.

Meg's eyes flashed, radiating golden light.

"Shut up."

Zeus shut up. I noted with some satisfaction that Meg had transferred the obedience curse from Apollo to Zeus.

I could still see the rage in Zeus's eyes, but now it was mixed with a hint of fear.

Meg stopped in front of Zeus, just a few meters away from his head.

"You're stupid," she declared.

"You hurt Apollo. You killed me. You kept the other gods from helping to fight against the emperors. You're like Nero; like the Beast. But you deserve a chance to grow. Apollo grew as a mortal; maybe you will too. Earn Elysium, and you can become a god again. If you don't, then you'll just be dead."

Meg glowed more intensely. Zeus tried to squirm away as she reached out to touch him. It didn't work. My Hunters had done their job well.

She put her hand on Zeus's forehead. He began glowing, pulsing light more and more intensely. On the fifth pulse he disappeared. My net and mine and my Hunters' arrows clattered to the floor, golden ichor still dripping from them.

The other gods stared at the space where Zeus had been just a moment before. They seemed to be in shock. I also imagined that none of them wanted to risk pissing off the little girl who had just brought herself and my baby brother back from the dead and vaporized the King of the Gods.

Meg turned around and trotted over to me. "Where are we gonna take Apollo?" she asked me.

That seemed to snap everyone out of their stupor. Hera shouted, "What did you do to my husband?!"

"I reincarnated him. He'll show up again, but he won't remember anything until he dies."

"What about the council?! Who will be in charge?"

"Dunno, you figure it out," Meg replied, blasé as ever. "Just don't be dumb."

Hera gaped at her. I suppressed a smile.

"So, where are we going?" she asked again.

"Delos. My and Apollo's birthplace. The place where we grew up. It'll keep Apollo safe until he's stronger. I'll need to tell Leto first, though. She'll want to see Apollo again. She's been worried sick about him."

"Cool, let's go."

"YOU CAN'T JUST—" Hera started. We were gone before she could finish her sentence.


	5. Notice of sequel

The sequel to Breaking Free, Delos Days, is now up.


End file.
